Alice In Wonderland [G]

Having been asked to sing in front of strangers, Alice finds herself suffering from a bad case of stage fright. After running away in search of a place to hide, she follows a white rabbit and, before she knows it, she has tumbled down a rabbit hole into a world where everything and nothing is real. 


Lewis Carroll’s little heroine has fallen down the rabbit hole time and time again, each time to come to a new Wonderland. I don’t think any other story has been made into a film as many times as Alice In Wonderland has. Though it has been done time and time again, this version from 1999 has to be my favourite. 


When young Alice is asked by her parents to sing in front of their friends, she suffers from a bad case of stage fright. Although her parents may know these people, she doesn’t, and so she runs away in search of a place to hide until the tea party is over and everyone has gone home. Whilst hiding in the woods, a white rabbit in a waistcoat hurries past and Alice, being a curious young lady, follows him. Before she knows it, she has tumbled down a large rabbit hole and is in a room full of locked doors. After managing to open the smallest door, Alice discovers a beautiful garden: the perfect place for her to hide. She becomes determined to get to that garden, just until her parents’ tea party ends. But getting to the garden proves to be trickier than she initially thought, and after meeting so many strange and sometimes startling characters along the way, is it going to be as safe as it seems? 


I like this version of Alice because the strange characters actually play a part. What I mean by that it that, through her dealings with them, Alice develops the confidence she needs to be able to face the strangers back home and sing to them. All the characters in this Wonderland love to perform and are shocked to find that Alice dislikes it. It was great. 
This version of Alice also features heaps of characters that I have never seen in any other version. In this one we meet the Gryphon and Mr. Mock Turtle, the White Knight, the Duchess and her pepper-obsessed cook, and Mr Mouse who gives the world’s driest lectures. And this movie has EVERYONE in it. I mean it; practically every face is a familiar one. Tina Majorino is Alice, Robbie Coltrane is Tweedle Dum, Whoopi Goldberg is the Cheshire Cat, Ben Kingsley is the Caterpillar, Christopher Lloyd is the White Knight, Pete Postlethwaite, is the Carpenter, Miranda Richardson is the Queen of Hearts, Martin Short is the Mad Hatter, Peter Ustinov is the Walrus, George Wendt is Tweedle Dee, Gene Wilder is Mr. Mock Turtle, Jason Flemying is the Knave of Hearts, Liz Smith is the Hen, Jason Byrne is Pat, Elizabeth Spriggs is the Duchess, and Joanna Lumley is the voice of the Tiger Lilly. Not to mention that the creature effects were done by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop! How can you not want to watch this now? 
Filled with loveable characters, wonderful costumes and makeup, and a limited amount of computer generated effects, Alice In Wonderland is a wonderful fairy tale that both children and adults can enjoy. Absolutely brilliant!